A Leap of Faith
by Tuvic
Summary: The first journey of the USS Independence, and her freshly promoted vulcan captain. Starfleet Command recieved a distress call from an outpost in the Beta Draconis system, the Independence has been sent to investigate...
1. Default

Captain Tuvic Annassazy leaned over the shoulder of the ensign at the helm of the shuttle and whistled softly as his ship came into view. The young ensign turned to him, her blond hair waving slightly as she turned her head, and said. "Is this your first time on a Prometheus class cruiser sir?" "As a matter of fact, yes, it is." he responded as he looked down towards the ensign. The shuttle slowly drifted towards the ship. Tuvic looked back at the ship as the name and registry came into view. "USS _Independence_, NCC 17395." Tuvic read aloud. The ensign keyed in the approach vector, and the shuttle dove downwards.

Tuvic stood upright, and turned back to his seat, ducking slightly so as not to hit his head on the low lying support beams. All that could be seen out the front window of the shuttle as Tuvic sat down in his chair was the opening doors of the Independence's main shuttle bay. "I've set the auto pilot to take us into the ship, you should gather your belongings and be ready to disembark as soon as the shuttle has stopped." Tuvic reached across the cramped shuttle and grabbed his case of padds, containing the ship's crew manifest, and specs. There was a loud hissing noise as the shuttle bay doors closed, and atmosphere was vented into the shuttle bay. Tuvic stood and walked towards the back of the shuttle.

He stood there for a split second before the green light above the exit turned on, indicating that it was safe to leave the shuttle. The ensign reached her hand past Tuvic and pressed the button to open the airlock. Tuvic was about to walk out of the shuttle when the ensign grabbed his arm. "Sir, you forgot this." she said as she handed him a small ebony black box. Tuvic picked up the box and then pocketed it. "Thank you ensign… I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten your name." he said as he stepped out of the shuttle and stood up straight.

"Its Lindsey Hawke sir." she replied. "Would you like the tour sir?" Lindsey continued. "You don't need to call me sir you know, I'm not in uniform… but no, I must get to the bridge." Tuvic answered. "Yes, the tour can wait till later if you want sir." Ensign Hawke stated. Tuvic strode out of the docking bay and onto a turbolift. "Bridge." he ordered, and the turbolift bounced as it shot upwards. Tuvic stood patiently until the doors opened and he stepped out onto the bridge. He walked down the ramp and towards his ready room.

The doors to his ready room slid open as Tuvic approached them. He took two steps into the room before noticing the person sitting in his chair. "Good morning Admiral Jameson." Tuvic said as he placed his belongings on the couch at one side of the room. "Welcome to the Independence Tuvic, how have you been?" the admiral asked. "It has been an interesting couple of months, yourself?" Tuvic responded as he sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk from the admiral. "Fine, fine; unfortunately I'm not here for a social call." the admiral said.

"We received a message from the Beta Draconis colony in Sector 37 yesterday." Jameson continued. "What do they want this …" Tuvic asked. "The message was a distress call." the admiral interrupted. "If your sending me on a rescue mission why wait till now, unless you already did and the rescue party disappeared." Tuvic surmised. "Very astute, we sent a rescue party consisting of the _Einstein_, the _Bozeman_, the _Yorktown_, and the _Goliath_. They reported in when they reached the edge of the sector." Jameson said as he pressed a button on the computer console and turned the display to face Tuvic. The face of a forty year old male captain appeared on the screen. Tuvic recognized the face for that of William Jefferson, with whom he had served onboard the _Odyssey_ before it was destroyed. Obviously he had been promoted within the last year, the last Tuvic had heard, Will was still a lieutenant commander.

> "Captain William Jefferson commanding the _Bozeman_ reporting as ordered. We have reached the edge of the sector and are proceeding with extreme caution. All communications from the outpost have stopped; I repeat, ALL communications from the outpost have stopped, including the emergency signal beacon. There are some anomalous readings coming from near the outermost planet, we are also getting multiple sensor contacts further in system, near the third planet. There is an abnormal amount of radiation coming from the star, but nothing that the shields can't handle, unfortunately the radiation will prevent further contact unless we leave the system. I will report in hourly. Captain William Jefferson Out."

The message ended and Jameson turned the terminal back towards himself. "But the fleet you mentioned consisted of four sovereign class vessels. If I'm to investigate their disappearances, I will need multiple ships to survive." Tuvic stated. "That is why you will take command of Gamma Fleet. The _Drake_, _Expedition_, _Vengeance_, _Archimedes_, and _Nagasaki_ are currently waiting to rendezvous with you at starbase 874 near the edge of sector 36." the admiral responded. "Sir, does the council really expect three prometheus class cruisers, two intrepid class starships, and a galaxy class to do any better than four sovereign class vessels?" Tuvic questioned. "It certainly looks that way son. There are a number of other ships in the vicinity that can come to your aid should the need be, but they are currently engaged in other business and are not able to join the fleet." admiral Jameson answered.

"How much time do I have until I am to be at the starbase?" Tuvic asked. "The arranged time is fifteen hundred hours, that gives you four hours for your crew to arrive if we account for the hour and a half travel time at warp nine." Jameson responded. "Is there anything else I should know about this mission?" Tuvic said. "You now know just as much as we do." Jameson said. "Well I must being going now, I have a meeting with the council." he continued. "It was good to see you sir." Tuvic said as he stood and extended his hand. "It was good to see you too Tuvic." Jameson responded as he stood and shook hands with Tuvic. The admiral hit the power button on the computer terminal and the screen descended into the desk. He walked around the desk and towards the door. As the door opened and the Admiral stepped outside, he stopped and turned back to Tuvic. "You take care of yourself now son." Jameson said, and then turned and stepped outside with the door closing behind him.

Tuvic turned and walked around his desk, grabbing his briefcase from the couch as he passed it, and sat down in his seat. He placed the briefcase of pads on the desk, opened it, and retrieved the padd containing the crew manifest for the Independence. As Tuvic pressed a button the list of positions scrolled downwards. He selected Executive Officer, and checked the service record of Commander Brad Manning, an intelligent young man who rose quickly through the ranks when he took command of a ship when the captain was killed and the executive officer was incapacitated. It would be interesting to work with him. Tuvic continued to pour over the service records of his senior staff, while the rest of the crew arrived.


	2. The New Arrival

Lieutenant Jacob Hanson walked briskly off of the shuttle, glad to be on something a little more powerful than a cramped mark nine shuttlecraft. He looked around as he was ushered towards the shuttle bays' exit, so that the shuttle could disembark and transfer more crew. The two ensigns turned left chatting about what might await them during this assignment. Jacob turned right and headed towards the turbolift. 'It aint the _Enterprise_, but it'll have to do.' he thought to himself. He rounded a corner and entered the turbolift. "Deck Five, Crew Quarters." Hanson commanded, and the turbolift jumped slightly. The doors soon slid open and Jacob stepped out and walked down a corridor. He turned a corner and then turned left and saw the door to his quarters.

He walked into his quarters and placed his belongings onto the floor next to the bed before collapsing on it. "Computer, tell me when it is twelve hundred hours." he said as he let his eyes close. It had been thirty-six hours since he had last had a chance to rest, and he still had quite a bit of work left to do. He still had to report to the captain, report to the chief of security, and oversee the arrival of his personnel. He stood and lifted his bag onto his bed. Once the bag was opened Jacob started transferring the contents to the various cabinets and closets in his quarters.

He lifted his uniform shirt out of the bag and held it up to have a look at it. Teal… not a pretty sight, but anyone who wore it was of great importance to the security of the ship. This was his first assignment as a member of Starfleet Special Operations, and he was given command of the entire special ops team on the Independence. He lifted the uniform's gray jacket out of the bag, and lay it down on his bed. Last came the jet-black pants, which needed to be pressed to get some of the wrinkles out of it. He pulled a little box and a padd out of one of the side compartments on his bag, and placed them onto his dresser. He lifted the pants and ran his hand down the sides of the legs trying to smooth out the wrinkles, when he had done the best that he could he placed them back onto the bed.

Once he had checked to see that all of his belongings were properly squared away he picked up his uniform and went to change. Fifteen minutes later Jacob Hanson stood in front of a tall mirror, admiring his new uniform and checking to see that it was correctly worn. The collar was a little snug, but other than that the uniform fit perfectly. He picked up the little box he had placed onto the dresser and then opened it, revealing his two gold lieutenant rank pips. He plucked them out of the box and placed them onto his collar. "The time is twelve hundred hours." the computer intoned. Jacob jumped before remembering that he had set the alarm. He grabbed the padd he had placed on the dresser and left his quarters, heading off to the bridge.


	3. The Journey Begins

The bridge seemed almost empty as Tuvic walked out of his ready room. The only personnel were Utopia Planitia's engineers making last minute adjustments. As Tuvic was about to sit down in his chair, the turbolift doors slid open and a young man wearing a teal uniform walked out. He looked around the room and then spotted Tuvic, and walked down the ramp. He was carrying a small padd in his left hand, which he handed to Tuvic as soon as he had stopped in front of Tuvic. "Lieutenant Jacob Hanson, Chief of Special Operations reporting for duty sir." Jacob said as he stood at attention. "At ease lieutenant." Tuvic said as he looked at the padd. The lieutenant placed his arms behind his back, and waited for the captain to continue. "I didn't see your name on the crew manifest, were you just recently transferred to this assignment?" Tuvic asked. "Yes sir, as of eighteen hundred hours yesterday I am your new Chief of Special Operations, I believe that all of the proper paper work is on the padd sir." Jacob responded. "You do not need to call me sir, I have not yet changed into my uniform. Have you had a chance to get settled in yet?" Tuvic questioned.

"Yes sir, I have." Lieutenant Hanson answered. Tuvic turned towards his chair and sat down, motioning for the Lieutenant to sit next to him in the chair normally reserved for the executive officer. "May I speak candidly sir?" he asked as he sat next to the captain. "Go ahead." Tuvic responded and then placing the padd on the arm of his chair turned to Jacob. "Why is there a special ops team on the Independence?… I mean she's a ship of exploration right, so we would not normally be going into a highly hazardous area." Jacob said. "That is a very good question which will be answered in the meeting I have scheduled to take place at thirteen thirty hours." Tuvic responded. "May I assume that our mission will be explained in that meeting?" Jacob questioned. "Yes, that is correct." Tuvic answered. "Then I will see you at the meeting, permission to be dismissed sir." Jacob said as he stood. "Granted." Tuvic said and then focused his attention towards the display attached to the armrest on his chair as the Lieutenant left the bridge.

An hour later Tuvic was sitting in his quarters rolling the little black box in his fingers. Sitting inside the box was his newest rank pip. It seemed to be such an insignificant thing compared to the time he had spent to earn the right to wear it. Yet in it's own little way it was the highest honor Tuvic could hope for. "Computer, how much of the crew are now onboard?" Tuvic said as he looked up from the box in his hands. "Ninety-eight percent of the crew are currently onboard." The computer responded. "Estimated time until the rest of the crew are onboard." Tuvic said. "Five minutes and thirty seven seconds." The computer answered.

Tuvic opened the box and removed the golden rank pip, he placed the box on his bedside table, and then attached the final rank pip to his collar. "Computer, time." He said as he walked out of the door to his quarters. "The time is thirteen twenty hours." The computer stated. "Summon all senior staff to conference room to." Tuvic ordered. Thirty seconds ticked by before the ship's intercom beeped twice. As Tuvic walked past a set of doors he could hear the computer's monotonous voice speaking inside.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Kimberly Foster, your presence is required in conference room two." 'So the chief engineer _is_ onboard.' Tuvic thought to himself. Tuvic rounded a corner just as the engineer's doors slid open. The sound of footsteps reverberated off the corridor walls as the lieutenant ran down the hall and followed Tuvic into a turbolift. "Sir…" Kimberly said when she realized who she was standing beside. "Lieutenant…" Tuvic said. "Deck three, conference room two." Tuvic ordered.

"I'm sorry for not reporting in yet, I just arrived onboard about ten minutes ago." Lieutenant Foster said. "It's understandable, the Independence wasn't scheduled to leave for another five hours. The council has given us new orders, and that is why things have been pushed forward." Tuvic explained. "Aye sir." the lieutenant said. The doors soon opened and the two of them walked down the corridor and into the conference room. The executive officer, and the chief medical officer were already sitting at the table in the middle of the room. Tuvic walked to the head of the table and sat down in his chair. The doors opened again and the rest of the senior staff began to arrive.

When everyone had been seated Tuvic began his briefing. "I'm sorry for the rush, but we have been called to starbase 874 near the edge of sector 36. We are to rendezvous with Gamma Fleet and then proceed to the Beta Draconis system." Tuvic said and then pressed a button on the control panel infront of him. He turned to face the screen adjacent to the table as a map of sector 36 appeared. A dot near the edge of the screen suddenly grew to envelope the display as the map zoomed into the system that contained starbase 874. The display split and the map was moved to the right side while a diagram of the other ships in gamma fleet appeared on the left side of the screen.

"This is gamma fleet, and our rendezvous point. Gamma fleet consists of the _Drake_, _Expedition_, _Vengeance_, _Archimedes_, and the _Nagasaki_." Tuvic pressed another button and the display changed to show the Beta Draconis system and diagrams of four sovereign class vessels. "Starfleet Command received a distress call yesterday, and a rescue mission was mounted. Shortly before the ships arrived insystem, all contact was lost with the colony. The _Einstein_, _Bozeman_, _Yorktown_, and _Goliath_ arrived at the edge of the system and we then received a report from the captain of the _Bozeman_." Tuvic said and then pressed a button, and the display changed the show the message sent by Will.

After the message had concluded the display returned to its previous state. "That was the last time we heard from any of those ships." Tuvic explained. "Our mission, ladies and gentlemen... is to find out what happened to the rescue party, and the colony, should we need assistance there are a number of ships in the vacinity." Tuvic explained. He hit another button and the display changed to a black screen as Tuvic turned back to face his senior staff. "Any questions?" Tuvic asked. "I suggest constant security and tactical drills until we enter the system." Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Garath said. "Agreed, but, I want the special ops teams to prepare for zero-g combat, just incase." Tuvic responded.

The staff stood and filed out of the room, all except commander Manning. "Why do I get the feeling we are not gonna like what we find in sector 37?" he asked as they both walked out of the room and towards the turbolift. Tuvic stayed silent until they reached the bridge. He walked down the ramp and sat in his chair, then looking at the view screen he spoke. "Computer… how much of the crew are now onboard?" he asked. "All crew are currently onboard." The computer intoned. "Good, now we can get under way." Tuvic said to himself.

"Engineering, bring the warpcore online and power up the key systems." Tuvic said as he turned to Lieutenant Junior Grade Foster. "Scan to make sure that all worker bees are clear of the ship." Tuvic said as he turned to Lieutenant Marcus Taylor. "The warpcore is online, and all key systems are up and running." Kim said from behind Tuvic. "All worker bees are safely away from the ship." Lieutenant Marcus responded. "Hail the starbase, and tell them we are ready to disembark." Tuvic said to Ensign Steven Argus. "Starbase control reports we are clear for departure." Steven said. "Helm… take us out, one quarter impulse." Tuvic said to Lieutenant Junior Grade Thomas Persey. The stars outside on the view screen shifted slowly as the _Independence_ pulled away from the dry dock. "We have cleared the starbase sir." Lieutenant Persey reported. "Set course for starbase 874, warp nine." Tuvic commanded. "Aye sir, starbase 874 warp nine." The lieutenant responded. "Engage." Tuvic said. The stars suddenly flew towards the screen as Tuvic watched.


	4. An Unexpected Arrival

Tuvic sat patiently in his chair watching the stars fly by as his executive officer studied the display he was sitting in front of. "Captain… I've been reviewing the distress call, and there is something odd about thirty seconds in." commander Manning said, looking up from where he was sitting. "Please… continue." Tuvic said. "About thirty seconds into the message, there is a echo of an earlier part of the message, and a faint after image shows up over the current image. At first I thought it was just a glitch, but I've run a diagnostic, and it came out negative." Brad continued. Tuvic stood and then walked over to where the commander was sitting. "Play the message again." Tuvic instructed. Brad hit a button and the face of a woman in her thirties appeared on the screen. Her dark brown hair had fallen down infront of her face and her shoulder was covered in blood.

"Starfleet Command, this is Doctor Kinsley at the Beta Draconis colony, we are under attack by…… crackle crackle…… need immediate assistance… Beta Draconis colony, we are under at… repeat, need immediate assistance."

"That's all, the message just repeats after that." the commander said as he stopped the message. "The part that repeated coincided with a period of static. What I don't get, is the fact that the static only cut out the audio… not the visual. We could still see the doctor talking, but what she said was covered up by static, and then the repeated part cut in, clear as when she said it earlier." Tuvic stated slightly puzzled. The computer console beeped and Brad turned to another display and hit a button. Text scrolled down the display and the commander stopped it half way down and then read a section of it. "It looks like the computer records show the same thing happening when they received the message the first time. It was probably left out of the official report because someone thought it was just interference from all of the static, and the fact that the colony was under attack." Brad reported.

"Captain we are approaching the starbase." Lieutenant Persey reported. "Drop out of warp at the edge of the system and proceed at full impulse to the rendezvous coordinates." Tuvic commanded. Tuvic walked over to his chair and sat back down. The stars seemed to slow and then come to a complete stop. "The _Drake_ is hailing sir." Ensign Argus said. "Onscreen." Tuvic responded. "Hello captain, the fleet is ready to leave when you are, but the _Expedition_ is having a bit of engine trouble she can't go more than warp five." Captain Lonsdale reported. "Understood captain, prepare the fleet for departure." Tuvic ordered.

"Sir, there is a starship entering the system… it's the Rutledge." the ops officer said. "The Rutledge is supposed to be in the Omicron system negotiating a peace treaty, what is she doing here?… Hail her." Tuvic said. "They are hailing us sir." the ops officer said. "Onscreen." Tuvic ordered. The face of an Andorian captain appeared on the viewscreen as Tuvic stood. "Captain… we have an ambassador here who says he needs to speak with you in person." the Andorian captain said. "I'm sorry, but we don't have time for this." Tuvic said. "Sorry, but the ambassador says his ambassadorial status overrules your orders. He's demanding to speak with you." the Andorian captain persisted. "Very well, have him transport over." Tuvic said reluctantly, and then closed the link. Tuvic stood and walked towards the turbolift. "Commander… you have the bridge." he said.

Tuvic stepped into the turbolift and turned back towards the door as it slid shut. "Transporter room one." he said bluntly. The turbolift jumped and after a short ride the doors opened and Tuvic stepped out. He walked down the corridor and into the transporter room. "Energize." Tuvic said to the ensign at the console. There was a slight humming noise as a blue light materialized into the ambassador. The ambassador took a step down and lifted the hood off of his head. "You again… must you always pester me." Tuvic said. "Well, you need guidance in this mission." the ambassador said. "Still, couldn't you have sent someone rather than come here yourself?" Tuvic asked as he left the transporter room.

"I would have normally, but these are special circumstances." the ambassador said following him out into the corridor. "I don't need my father hanging over my shoulder during this whole mission." Tuvic said. "I'm not here to judge you, the Vulcan Science Directorate sent a probe out here recently and it picked up some very strange readings… you're the first ship I've found that could take me to the Beta Draconis system. The Rutledge has to return to the Omicron system to oversee the end of the peace talks." Tolaak responded. "Fine, just don't interfere." Tuvic said. "Sorry son, but I now have control over where this ship goes, and what it does when it gets there." Tolaak said. "No, you don't, I'm on strict orders from the Federation council, you are not to interfere with my mission, I will humor you but I have complete control over this mission and its personnel." Tuvic said as he walked into the turbolift.

**DISCLAIMER: Star Trek and all it's various materials are copyrighted by Paramount Entertainment, and were created by Gene Roddenberry. No infringement is intended, this is a piece of Fan Fiction.**


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